Feb. 17, 2025

The Profit Growth Formula: Turning Every Dollar of Revenue into Maximum Bottom Line Impact

The Profit Growth Formula: Turning Every Dollar of Revenue into Maximum Bottom Line Impact

In this episode, we'll reveal how business owners can dramatically improve their profit margins by focusing on three key areas: strategic pricing, operational leverage, and what we call "profit leak prevention." We'll show how small adjustments in...

iHeartRadio podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconSpreaker podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconJioSaavn podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconCastamatic podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconYouTube podcast player icon
iHeartRadio podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconSpreaker podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconJioSaavn podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconCastamatic podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconYouTube podcast player icon

In this episode, we'll reveal how business owners can dramatically improve their profit margins by focusing on three key areas: strategic pricing, operational leverage, and what we call "profit leak prevention." We'll show how small adjustments in these areas can create massive impacts on bottom-line results.

Powerful Business Strategies is broadcast live Mondays at 12 Noon ET Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Powerful Business Strategies is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

Powerful Business Strategies Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/powerful-business-strategies--6198916/support.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:02.359
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

2
00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:04.040
solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

3
00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:06.960
those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

4
00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:10.119
make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

5
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:12.480
or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

6
00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:15.480
liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W four CY

7
00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.280
Radio or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments

8
00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:20.519
should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for

9
00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:23.399
choosing W FOURCY Radio.

10
00:00:27.399 --> 00:00:30.960
Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies, where you will find out

11
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:34.320
that everything you have ever learned about growing your business

12
00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:38.399
is wrong. Finally, a show where you'll learn the right

13
00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:41.759
way to grow your business by learning business and financial

14
00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:46.399
strategies that your competition isn't doing. And now here is

15
00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:52.240
your host. President of NeXTSTEP CFO Michael Barbarita, and joining

16
00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:57.200
Michael for today's show as an executive moderator is Chooky Obio.

17
00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.920
The Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies and the reason why

18
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:06.920
you don't hear that energize more energized voice of Chucky

19
00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:10.560
Obio welcoming you to the show is because Chucky's wife

20
00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:14.879
and Chukey recently welcomed their first baby, Chelsea. A Day's

21
00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:17.680
a oh Bio to the world. So congratulations to Chukey

22
00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.239
and his wife. And Chukey will be on leave for

23
00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:23.439
a little while so in the meantime, Monument is Michael

24
00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:26.280
bober Rita, President of Next Step CFO and next Step

25
00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:31.400
CFO is a fractional CFO and strategic implementation firm. Business

26
00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:33.879
owners hire us the double and triple their profit through

27
00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:38.159
implementing business and financial strategies that their competition isn't doing.

28
00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:42.000
Our vision is to ensure that overwhelmed business owners achieve

29
00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:45.920
the time, freedom, and consistent profits that build a legacy

30
00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.640
and the life that they desire. Our mission is dedicated

31
00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.879
to guiding small business owners to leveraging their time, exploding

32
00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:58.239
their profits, and building a meaningful legacy. The show Powerful

33
00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:01.000
Business Strategies and our book of the same name is

34
00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:05.400
a step toward accomplishing that vision and mission, and Chucky

35
00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:09.039
and I are both affiliated with a number of different organizations.

36
00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:12.800
Jukie currently serves as the managing director for business development

37
00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:17.439
for Better Price, a global business focused law firm. In

38
00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.439
addition to that, Chucky and I collaborate to moderate business

39
00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:24.280
round cables around the country and around the world and

40
00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:28.520
document those insights as part of our book Powerful Business Strategies.

41
00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:31.439
But please note that the views expressed on this show

42
00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:35.400
are our personal views based on our own successful experiences.

43
00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:39.080
So here's something that i'd like to share that I

44
00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:43.000
announced before actually announced it the last few weeks. And

45
00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:45.560
if you have a business problem that you would like

46
00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:49.080
us to answer, or a question or a strategy that

47
00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:52.759
you'd like to ask us about, please email us at

48
00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.400
ask at NEXTSTEPCFO dot net. Now it doesn't matter what

49
00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:00.319
the business problem is or what the question is, will

50
00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:02.719
answer it for you. But there's a couple of things

51
00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:05.639
that we asked. Number one, please state whether it is

52
00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:08.919
something we can answer on the air or if it's confidential.

53
00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.919
Of course, if it's confidential, we won't put it on

54
00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:14.879
the air. Number two, please provide your phone number because

55
00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:18.560
business problems can be complex and we might need more

56
00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:23.400
context or clarity to your question. That email address again

57
00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:28.439
is ask at NeXTSTEP CFO dot net. That's ask at

58
00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:32.159
nextstepsfo dot net. I also want to point that we've

59
00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:37.080
had a couple of people requesting asking questions, but they

60
00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:42.960
all requested confidentiality, which of course, we will always honor you. Know,

61
00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.319
in my years of working with business owners, I've noticed

62
00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:51.800
something remarkable that the most successful ones share a common trait.

63
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:58.800
They're eternal students. They never stop learning, they never stop growing,

64
00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:03.240
and they never stop saying I know enough. So think

65
00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:08.240
about this. Every major breakthrough in your business journey probably

66
00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:12.960
came from learning something new, a new strategy, a new perspective,

67
00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:16.040
a new way of thinking. And those moments when you

68
00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.560
say aha, now I see it differently, those are the

69
00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.519
moments that change your business now. I remember working with

70
00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.160
a business owner who was ready to give up. He'd

71
00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:30.000
been doing things the same way for fifteen years. His

72
00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:33.600
business was just stagged it. His enthusiasm was gone. But

73
00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:38.399
then he made a crucial decision. He decided to become

74
00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:43.639
a student again. He started reading, attending workshops, seeking out

75
00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:48.920
new perspectives, talking with me more. Within six months, his

76
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:53.399
business was growing again, but more importantly, his passion had returned.

77
00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:56.959
Here's what I want you to understand that the most

78
00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:02.600
dangerous words in business aren't I failed there, I know enough.

79
00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:06.680
The moment you stop learning is the moment your business

80
00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:11.480
starts dying. Every business is evolving, every market is changing.

81
00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.879
And every day brings new opportunities to those who are

82
00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:18.240
ready to see them. But here's the beautiful thing. You

83
00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:21.639
don't have to make dramatic changes to keep learning, not

84
00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:26.600
small little tweaks. Read one article a day about your industry,

85
00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:30.399
Listen to one podcast on your commute, have one conversation

86
00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:32.600
a week with someone who thinks differently than you do.

87
00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:38.120
These small investments in yourself they compound over time, just

88
00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:42.480
like interest in a bank account. Remember, your business can

89
00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:45.680
only grow as much as you do. Every minute you

90
00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:49.360
spend learning is an investment in your company's future. The

91
00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:53.720
challenges are facing today can be solved with knowledge that

92
00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:57.959
you don't have yet. So stay curious, stay hungry, and

93
00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.160
stay hungry for knowledge, and never st being a student

94
00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:07.480
of your craft. So every business owner knows the feeling

95
00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:11.839
you know. You're looking at your profit and loss statement seeing,

96
00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:15.959
maybe seeing some healthy revenue numbers, but wondering why there

97
00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.279
isn't more profit to show for all your hard work.

98
00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:23.240
You're not alone. I've helped hundreds of business owners transform

99
00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:26.800
their revenue into real bottom line profit, and I can

100
00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:30.439
tell you this. The gap between your current profits and

101
00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:34.439
your potential isn't about working harder. It's about working smarter,

102
00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:37.199
and today I'm going to show you exactly how to

103
00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:42.160
turn more of every dollar that you learn into profit

104
00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:46.639
that you can actually keep, because it's not about not

105
00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:50.360
just about making money or generating revenue, it's about keeping

106
00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:54.240
the money that you make. So today we're going to

107
00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:58.000
take into a deep dive into something that every business

108
00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:03.600
owner needs to understand, the profit growth formula, turning every

109
00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:07.480
dollar of revenue into maximum bottom line impact. You know,

110
00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:10.759
I recently worked with a business owner who was doing

111
00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:14.120
about three million dollars in annual revenue but only keeping

112
00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:16.759
about one hundred and fifty thousand improfit. And he was frustrated,

113
00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:19.639
and he was exhausted, and he couldn't figure out why

114
00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:22.959
he was working so hard for such a small return.

115
00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.600
Sound familiar. Well, within six months of implementing what I'm

116
00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:29.360
about to share with you today, or some of the

117
00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:31.519
things that I'm about to share with you today, his

118
00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:34.600
profit increased a four hundred fifty thousand without increasing his

119
00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:37.959
revenue by a single dollar. Today, I'm going to show

120
00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:40.800
you exactly how he did it, and more importantly, how

121
00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:44.439
you can do it too. Oh. I got a question

122
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:49.560
from Melissa, said he asked Michael, why do you think

123
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.199
so many businesses struggle with profit even when they have

124
00:07:53.319 --> 00:08:01.079
good revenue. Well, it's what I call revenue hypnosis. Business

125
00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:05.120
owners get hypnotized by top line growth and lose sight

126
00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:08.199
of what really matters, which is by them nonprofit, and

127
00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:11.480
they're so focused on making the sale they forget to

128
00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.079
make sure they're keeping enough of what they earn. So

129
00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.319
let me give you a quick example. I worked with

130
00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:20.319
a construction company that was celebrating celebrating landing a five

131
00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:24.160
hundred thousand dollars contract, their biggest ever. It's great, but

132
00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:26.680
when we analyze the numbers, we discovered that they would

133
00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.639
actually lose money on the job because they were focused

134
00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:33.120
on the revenue side and they forgot about focusing on profit.

135
00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:38.039
So today we're going to break down three major areas

136
00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:42.679
where profit hides in plain sight. One is strategic pricing,

137
00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:48.080
the other is operational leverage, and the third is profit

138
00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:51.960
leak prevention. More importantly, I'm going to show you exactly

139
00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:55.000
how to capture that profit without having to work harder

140
00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:57.720
or taking on more stress, which is something I know

141
00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.919
we business owners always take on. And the best part,

142
00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:05.639
these strategies don't require that you get more customers or

143
00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:09.159
increase your sales. They simply require you to be smarter

144
00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:12.679
about the money that you already are making, and by

145
00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:16.039
the end of the today's show, you'll have a clear

146
00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:20.000
roadmap for turning more of your revenue into actual profit.

147
00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:27.519
Another question, can any business implement these strategies? Well? Absolutely,

148
00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:33.879
I've used these exact strategies with retailers, manufacturing, service businesses,

149
00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:38.000
contractor you name it, and the principles work across any

150
00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:42.879
industry because they're based on fundamental business math, not specific

151
00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:47.240
industry tactics. So let me share something. In my experience

152
00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:51.279
working with hundreds of businesses, I found that most companies

153
00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:55.080
are leaving between thirty percent and fifty percent of their

154
00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:59.159
potential profit on the table, not because they're doing anything wrong,

155
00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.720
because they're not looking in the right places for profit opportunity.

156
00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.960
So think about it. If you're making one hundred thousand profit,

157
00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.120
you might have another thirty to fifty thousand available by

158
00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:13.320
implementing these strategies. And that's without getting a single new

159
00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:17.240
customer or working a single extra hour. So let me

160
00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:19.600
dive into the first major area of profit growth that

161
00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:27.120
I talked about, strategic pricing most businesses approach pricing completely backwards.

162
00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:30.559
They look at their costs at a markup and hope

163
00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:34.120
it's enough. That's not pricing. That's not a pricing strategy.

164
00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:38.320
That's called pricing surrender. So let me share a story

165
00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:43.120
that illuminates this. A commercial landscaping company that was pricing

166
00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:46.799
their services based on what they thought the market would bear,

167
00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.720
and they were getting plenty of business, but their profit

168
00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:53.840
modules would raise it thin and then how they're making

169
00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:57.919
any money? And when they analyzed their pricing, they discovered

170
00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:01.559
that they had categorized all this services into three tiers

171
00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:07.840
basic basic services, premium services, and deluxe services. But when

172
00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:10.679
they looked at actual profit margins, some of their basic

173
00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:14.559
services were more profitable than their deluxe ones, and they

174
00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:20.039
were literally pushing customers put less profitable services. And so

175
00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:24.240
they implemented what they called profit first pricing. So instead

176
00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:28.919
of starting with costs, they started with target gross profit margins.

177
00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:33.200
They analyzed every service that they offered based on three factors,

178
00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:38.159
the actual cost of delivered, the value it provided, the

179
00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:43.080
value it provided to the customer, and the operational complexity involved. Now,

180
00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:47.200
this analysis revealed that their snow removal service, which they

181
00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:51.919
saw as a basic offering actually provided enormous value to

182
00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:55.600
their commercial clients. Why, because snow removal was critical for

183
00:11:55.679 --> 00:12:02.759
liability and business continuity. They reposition this service and increased

184
00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:06.080
prices by forty percent, but not a single customer complained

185
00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:10.080
because the value was obvious. This is what business owners

186
00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:14.399
are constantly afraid of. They're constantly afraid that, you know,

187
00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:16.759
they're gonna they're gonna lose business to a competitor when

188
00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:20.159
they increase their prices. But if you if you increase

189
00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.360
your prices strategically, like in this particular example with the

190
00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:30.399
landscaping company, that is when a customers hardly noticed, and

191
00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:34.679
especially if you add more value to your product the

192
00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:38.399
service that has very little cost to it, and so

193
00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:43.600
just adding a little things, like when I was in

194
00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:47.320
the frozen cookie dough business, I added a free convection

195
00:12:47.399 --> 00:12:50.080
of it with every opening order, and I knew the

196
00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:53.399
value of a customer, so I knew that once my

197
00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.559
customer tried the product, I knew I could expect probably

198
00:12:56.600 --> 00:12:59.799
five to ten thousand dollars in additional orders because that's

199
00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.440
what I was averaging, and so it was easy to

200
00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:05.200
give away a two hundred dollars convection of and with

201
00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:08.840
a fifty dollars opening order. Didn't make money on the

202
00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:11.080
opening order, but I made money over the long term

203
00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:13.320
with the long term valueable customer. And you always should

204
00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:19.480
know your long term value of a customer. So back

205
00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:23.200
to that landscaping landscaping company, what they also discovered is

206
00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:27.480
that some of their premium services like Intricate landscape design

207
00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.799
were actually eating into their profits because of the time

208
00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:35.320
and revisions involved. Instead of dropping these services, they restructured them.

209
00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:38.120
They created a clear scope of work that included two

210
00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:42.840
revisions with additional revisions at an extra charge. And the

211
00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:45.879
result was their overall gross profit manage and increased from

212
00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:49.840
eight percent to twenty three percent within four months. And

213
00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:52.559
here's the key. They didn't lose any customers. They just

214
00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:57.679
started charging appropriately for the value that they were delivering.

215
00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:01.320
For the value, that's the key word, for the value

216
00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:04.360
that they were delivering. You increase the value of your

217
00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:09.080
product or service, you could demand more money. So let

218
00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:11.960
me share another powerful pricing strategy. I call it the

219
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:18.480
value based packaging. And most businesses give away valuable add

220
00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:22.039
ons because they're afraid to charge for them. But when

221
00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:27.960
you package your services, products or services strategically, customers actually

222
00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:33.159
prefer to pay for the complete solution. So there's an

223
00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:36.679
example of an IT service provider that I worked with

224
00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:40.600
who was including after hours support in all their contracts

225
00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:44.799
because they thought they had to compete on service. Well,

226
00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:48.080
we analyzed their support support logs and found that only

227
00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:52.639
twenty percent of their clients regularly used after hours support,

228
00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:55.679
but they were essentially giving it a way to everyone.

229
00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:59.679
We structured their pricing into three tiers, Standard, which was

230
00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:03.679
eight am to five pm, support, Premium which is seven

231
00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:07.120
am to seven pm, and Enterprise, which is twenty four

232
00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:10.559
to seven And so here's what happened. Sixty percent of

233
00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:14.039
their clients chose Premium that was seven am to seven pm,

234
00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:18.639
fifteen percent shows enterprise, and twenty five percent stayed with standard.

235
00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:22.159
Their average contract value increased by thirty four percent, and

236
00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:27.759
their gross margins approved by forty five percent. Here's another

237
00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:32.120
question from a listener. But so the question is, well,

238
00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:37.519
what about businesses that are in highly competitive markets. Won't

239
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:42.720
raising prices drive away those customers? Well, this is I

240
00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:45.440
just kind of just went through that. But this is

241
00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.480
where most businesses get it wrong. They think they're in

242
00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:52.519
a price sensitive market, But what they're actually in is

243
00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:57.480
a value communication market, a value communication problem. So let

244
00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:00.879
me explain with another example. So, a commercial cleaning company

245
00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:05.039
was stuck in a brutal price war. Just imagine there's

246
00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:08.960
a million of those. Every time they tried to raise prices,

247
00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:12.720
competitors would undercut them. So they took a different approach.

248
00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:17.240
They analyzed their actual costs and identified which services were

249
00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.399
truly profitable and which ones weren't. And they discovered that

250
00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:25.840
their deep cleaning services, which they did quarterly for most clients,

251
00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:30.000
were highly profitable and while their daily maintenance cleaning was

252
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.399
baily breaking even. Instead of raising prices across the board,

253
00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:37.120
they created a new pricing model that incentivized clients to

254
00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:40.919
commit to quarterly deep cleaning by offering a discount on

255
00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:45.240
daily mat on the daily maintenance that they did. So

256
00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:49.600
this accomplished two things. First, it increased their overall profitability

257
00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:54.039
because clients were using more of their high margin services.

258
00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:57.840
And second, it made it harder for competitors to copy

259
00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:01.840
because they couldn't just match price point, they had to

260
00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:05.839
match an entire pricing structure. You know, that's another thing.

261
00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:10.519
When you bundle things together and package things together it's

262
00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:14.640
more difficult for competitors to match you, So if you're

263
00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:18.319
bundling products and services together, much more difficult. When I

264
00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:21.319
was in the ski business and I packaged clothing to

265
00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.839
match the most popular ski designs and ski graphics, no

266
00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:31.759
one could really copy it because I had different types

267
00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:36.359
of clothing in the different packages, so it was real

268
00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:38.880
difficult to copy, and some of them didn't carry the

269
00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:43.640
brands that we did. So let me share one more

270
00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:47.799
powerful pricing strategy that transformed a client's business. I call

271
00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:54.480
it solution solution based pricing, and it's particularly effective in

272
00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:59.279
service businesses. So I worked with an HVAC company that

273
00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.640
was pricing like everyone else by the hour plus parts,

274
00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.000
and they were getting plenty of work but struggling with profitability.

275
00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.759
And when we analyzed their business, we discovered something really

276
00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:13.039
interesting about their emergency service calls. Their customer didn't care

277
00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:16.559
about hourly rates in an emergency call. They came about

278
00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:20.799
getting their ec working again quickly or whatever or whatever

279
00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:25.279
was broken. So we completely restructured their pricing so instead

280
00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:29.039
of charging by the hour, they created fixed price solutions

281
00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:34.039
based on the problem type, and they guaranteed to diagnose

282
00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:37.200
and fix specific problems for a set price, regardless of

283
00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:39.920
how long it took. For example, instead of saying we

284
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.799
charge one hundred and fifty dollars an hour, they'd say,

285
00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:43.680
we'll fix your AC today for three hundred and ninety

286
00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:48.400
seven dollars guarantee. Their conversion rate on service calls increased

287
00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:53.079
by forty percent because customers loved the certainty. Their gross

288
00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:57.440
profit modges approved by thirty five percent because they could

289
00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:02.400
now be rewarded for efficiency rather than time spent. But

290
00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:09.720
here's something interesting. Complaints about pricing dropped almost to zero,

291
00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:14.279
and when you give people certainty, they're often willing to

292
00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:17.079
pay more for it. The same principle works in any

293
00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:21.960
industry where customers are more concerned with outcomes than process

294
00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:29.920
and price. They're more concerned with outcomes. So here's a

295
00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.960
couple of questions from our listeners. First question, so how

296
00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.960
can a business owner know if they're charging enough for

297
00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.720
their products or services? Well, I use what I call

298
00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:45.200
the value to price ratio analysis. You'll look at three

299
00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:49.480
most profitable customers and ask these questions. Number one, what

300
00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:53.799
problems do we solve for you? Two? What would happen

301
00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:58.880
if you couldn't use our service? Anymore. And their answer

302
00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:05.039
is reveal real value that you provide. So uh. For example,

303
00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:08.960
I worked with an IT company that was charging one

304
00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:11.079
hundred twenty five dollars an hour for support and when

305
00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:14.359
we and when we asked their clients these questions, we

306
00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:18.359
discovered their service was preventing an average of five thousand

307
00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:22.240
dollars in loss productivity per month. They were drastically on

308
00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.799
the charging for the value that they delivered. And the

309
00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:31.559
key is to quantify your value in terms that mattered

310
00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:33.640
to your customer. Don't focus on what it costs you

311
00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:36.559
to provide the services. Focus on what it's worth to

312
00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:41.079
them to have their problem solved. Boy, that's a big

313
00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:44.960
that's big what I just said there. Another question from

314
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:48.359
the audience is what's the biggest pricing mistake that you

315
00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:52.359
see businesses make. Well, the biggest mistake is what I

316
00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.079
call comp competitor based pricing. Businesses look at what their

317
00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:59.359
competitors charge and in charge a little less, thinking that's

318
00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:01.799
how good they're going to win business. It's just a

319
00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:05.799
race to the bottom. Nobody wins that. Here's why your

320
00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:10.200
competitors probably don't know their numbers either, and there's probably

321
00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:13.559
struggling with profitability like you are. Well, when you copy

322
00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.599
their pricing, you're copying their problems. Instead, you need to

323
00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:21.000
base your pricing on your specific operation, your specific cost,

324
00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:24.519
and more importantly, as I've been saying, your specific value

325
00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:29.079
proposition to your customers. So before I continue this discussion,

326
00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:32.440
we're going to take a ninety second break. Hey, their

327
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:35.160
business owners, let me ask you something. Are you tied

328
00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:39.079
of blending in with your competitors, frustrated with slow growth

329
00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:40.119
and slim margins?

330
00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:41.799
Well, I've got news for you.

331
00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:46.000
Everything you've ever learned about growing your business is wrong.

332
00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:47.519
Don't worry.

333
00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:49.880
I'm here to let you in on a secret weapon,

334
00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:53.880
your position of market dominance. It's what sets you apart,

335
00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:57.839
makes you irreplaceable, and has customers lining up at your door.

336
00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.359
My name is Michael Barberie from Next Step CFO.

337
00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:05.599
I know what you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael, How do

338
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:09.440
I find my position of market dominance? Well, that's exactly

339
00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:13.240
why we've created our game changing implementation program called Next

340
00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:16.759
Step to Market Dominance. In just ninety days, we'll guide

341
00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.240
you step by step to a position of market dominance

342
00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:23.279
by uncovering your unique strengths that competitors can't touch by

343
00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.599
crafting a message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer.

344
00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:29.559
By building a strategy that turns you into the go

345
00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:32.599
to expert in your field. Now this is in theory.

346
00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:36.200
These are battle tested strategies that have helped businesses like

347
00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:40.680
you as double, triple, and quadruple their revenue. Don't let

348
00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:43.920
another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to

349
00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:49.240
dominate your market. Period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward

350
00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:52.720
slash contact. Fill out the form and in the message

351
00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:56.759
section put the word dominate or call us at seven

352
00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:00.400
eighty one three two six three eight two two. That's

353
00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:04.160
next step CFO dot net Forward slash Contact or call

354
00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.519
us at seven eight one three two six three eight

355
00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:12.319
two two. Welcome back. And remember, if you are driving,

356
00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:15.799
you can always listen to our replays at Powerful Business

357
00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:21.480
Strategies dot com. That's Powerful Business Strategies dot com. Now

358
00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:25.039
let's talk about the second major area of profit growth,

359
00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:30.000
what we call operational leverage. And this is about making

360
00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:36.200
your operations more profitable without necessarily making them bigger. See,

361
00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:39.640
most businesses try to grow profits by getting bigger, moret

362
00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:43.319
more sales, more staff, or equipment, but often the faster,

363
00:23:43.880 --> 00:23:47.960
fastest path to higher profits is getting better at leveraging

364
00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:50.119
what you already have. And let me show you what

365
00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:54.519
I mean. So a manufacturing company was convinced they needed

366
00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:58.400
to buy new equipment to increase capacity they were running

367
00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:02.559
three shifts and keep up with demand. When they analyzed

368
00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:06.960
their operations, they discovered something that was really surprising to them.

369
00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:14.359
Their overall equipment effectedness, that's actual production time versus available

370
00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:18.759
time was only forty two percent and the industry standard

371
00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:22.680
was eighty five percent. They weren't running at full capacity,

372
00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:27.119
they were just they were just running inefficiently. But here's

373
00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.799
where it gets interesting. They found three major areas, and

374
00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:35.599
this is where the concept of operational leverage becomes so powerful. First,

375
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.519
they were losing two hours per shift and change over

376
00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:43.599
time between products. Second, they were having quality issues that

377
00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:51.519
required rework. And third, their maintenance was reactive rather than preventative,

378
00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:58.079
leading to unexpected downtime, which definitely caused a ton of inefficiency.

379
00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:02.839
And so they implemented what they called the profit point analysis,

380
00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:06.680
where they mapped out every step in their operation and

381
00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:10.880
identified where time and money were being lost. Then they

382
00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:15.240
created a systematic plan to address each issue. Now the

383
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:18.799
change over time brought from two hours to thirty minutes

384
00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:24.799
by simply reorganizing their process and creating standard procedures. Quality

385
00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:28.480
issues were cut in half by implementing checkpoints at critical

386
00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:31.279
stages rather than just at the end, and then they

387
00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:36.039
developed a preventive maintenance schedule that actually reduced downtime by

388
00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:41.160
seventy percent. The result was that their effective capacity increased

389
00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:44.480
by eighty five percent without binding any new equipment. Their

390
00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:47.680
profit manage improved from twelve to twenty eight percent because

391
00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:51.119
they were getting more production from the same fixed costs.

392
00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:55.920
But operational leverage isn't just for manufacturing. Let me share

393
00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:58.599
how that principle worked for a service business. So there

394
00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:02.599
was a law firm that was strungruggling with profitability despite

395
00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:07.240
having a full load of clients, and when they analyzed

396
00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:11.640
their operations, they found that they were leaking profit in

397
00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:14.920
how they were using their most expensive resource, which, of course,

398
00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:19.920
as you can imagine, was attorney time. And they implemented

399
00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:22.599
what they call the value time mapping, and for every

400
00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:27.279
activity in the firm, they asked two questions, Number one,

401
00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:30.759
does this require attorney expertise? And number two, what's the

402
00:26:30.920 --> 00:26:35.519
value to the client. Well, they discovered that attorneys were

403
00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:38.119
spending forty percent of their time on tasks that could

404
00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:42.079
be handled by power legals or automated systems. So by

405
00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:46.400
restructuring how work flowed through the firm, they were able

406
00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:50.839
to create profit centers instead of just departments. And they

407
00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:55.480
developed systems that matched tasks to the appropriate skill level,

408
00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:02.559
automated routine documents, and created client intake processes that gathered

409
00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:06.680
better information up front. And the results were dramatic. I

410
00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:09.400
mean attorney billable I was increased by twenty eight percent.

411
00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:12.519
It can imagine how those were and because they were

412
00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:16.079
focusing on high value work and then profit per partner

413
00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:19.480
increased by forty five percent. But also is the thing.

414
00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:23.799
Client satisfaction scores went up because work was being handled

415
00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:28.440
more efficiently at every level. Now notice I said client

416
00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:32.079
satisfaction scores. How did they know that? Well, they track

417
00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:35.759
their data. This is something we business owners never do.

418
00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:39.559
We never were scared about the math and the data.

419
00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:42.880
But it's the data that helps drive the decision making

420
00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:46.359
and it did so for this law firm. So here's

421
00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:50.519
a question, yep, here's a question from a listener. Can

422
00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:54.720
smaller businesses apply these same principles absolutely so. In fact,

423
00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:58.920
sometimes it's easier for smaller businesses because they could be

424
00:27:58.920 --> 00:28:01.400
more nimble. Let me give you an example of a

425
00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:06.720
small plumbing company that increased their profitability through operational leverage.

426
00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:09.599
So this company had four trucks on the road and

427
00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:12.319
it was struggling to keep up with demand. They thought

428
00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:15.839
they needed more trucks and needed to hire more plumbers,

429
00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:21.359
you know. And instead they analyzed their operation very important

430
00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:24.559
to do and found that they were only averaging five

431
00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:29.039
completed jobs per truck per day when similar companies were

432
00:28:29.079 --> 00:28:33.079
doing eight. So, once again they looked at their data

433
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.000
and the problem was that their plumber's skill, it was

434
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:41.039
their scheduling and routing. They implemented a simple system that

435
00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:45.519
organized jobs by geography and type. They also created a

436
00:28:45.559 --> 00:28:48.759
detailed list of what should be in each truck at

437
00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:52.839
the start of each day. These two changes increased their

438
00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:56.799
completed jobs to seven completed jobs per day. Their revenue

439
00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:59.000
went up forty percent with the same number of trucks

440
00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:02.160
and the same number of plumbers. But here's the best

441
00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:05.160
part their gross their profit. Their profit went up eighty

442
00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:07.680
five percent because all of their fixed costs stayed the

443
00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:11.920
same while they got more production from their existing resources.

444
00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:15.640
By the way, that's the beauty. That's the beautiful part

445
00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:19.599
about this. When you change operational efficiencies and make it

446
00:29:19.640 --> 00:29:22.160
more important, most of that profit falls to the bottom

447
00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:26.359
line because most of your overhead is fixed. It's the

448
00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:32.240
same to every period, to every relevant revenue range. So

449
00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:36.319
let me share another a powerful aspect of operational leverage

450
00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:41.039
that most businesses quite frankly miss completely, and I'll call

451
00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:46.680
it the capacity multiplier effect. So a physical therapy practice

452
00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:51.200
that thought they needed to add more treatment rooms to grow,

453
00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:56.319
but when they analyzed their operations using the capacity multiplier framework,

454
00:29:57.079 --> 00:30:01.079
they discovered that their existing space could forty percent more

455
00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:06.279
patients just by changing this scheduling approach. Now, they were

456
00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:10.960
scheduling all their patients on the hour, which created bottlenecks

457
00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:15.039
in their treatment rooms, but by staggering the appointments every

458
00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:18.920
twenty minutes and implementing what they called blow zones in

459
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:22.000
their facility, they could actually serve more patients with the

460
00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:25.440
same space and staff. And the result was that their

461
00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:30.039
revenue increased by thirty five percent while their overhead stayed

462
00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:33.279
exactly the same. And that's the power of the capacity

463
00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:38.440
multiplier effect any more output from your existing resources by

464
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:47.000
optimizing how you use them. So a couple of questions

465
00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:53.200
from listeners. First, how can a business owner identify their

466
00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:58.119
best opportunities for operational leverage. Well, I use what I

467
00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:04.079
call the resource utilization analysis. So stop by tracking how

468
00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:10.119
your most expensive resources, whether that's people, equipment, or space,

469
00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:14.240
how they're being used throughout the day, and look for

470
00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:19.240
three things. Number one idle time, number two mismatched activities,

471
00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:23.279
and number three bottlenecks. For example, a company in the

472
00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:28.039
dental industry who discovered that their most expensive resource, the dentists,

473
00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.720
was spending thirty percent of their time reviewing charts and

474
00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:35.839
doing paperwork, they could be delegated. So by restructuring their workflow,

475
00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:40.720
they increase procedure time by twenty five percent without working

476
00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:45.640
longer hours. And remember, the biggest opportunities often hide in

477
00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:49.319
playing sight because we're so used to doing things a

478
00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:54.920
certain way. So the other question, the second question from

479
00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:58.400
a listener, is so what's the fastest way to stop

480
00:31:58.519 --> 00:32:03.960
implementing to start implementing these principles, Well, start with what

481
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:09.160
I call quick win analysis. Make three lists things you

482
00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:14.359
can change immediately with no investment, things that require minor

483
00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:20.000
investment or trimming, and things that need major changes, and

484
00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:23.720
focus on the first list. For instance, I had a

485
00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:28.000
manufacturing client who improved efficiency by fifteen percent in one

486
00:32:28.039 --> 00:32:32.480
week just by reorganizing their workspace. No new equipment, no

487
00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:36.160
new staff, just a smarter layout. These quick wins not

488
00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:40.000
only improve profit immediately, but they also build momentum and

489
00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:44.960
buy in for bigger changes. So before I continue this discussion,

490
00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:47.799
we're going to take a ninety second break. Hey, their

491
00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:50.519
business owners, let me ask you something. Are you tied

492
00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:54.440
of blending in with your competitors? Frustrated with slow growth

493
00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:55.519
and slim margins?

494
00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:57.160
Well, I've got news for you.

495
00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:01.359
Everything you've ever learned about growing your busin business is wrong.

496
00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:02.880
Don't worry.

497
00:33:03.319 --> 00:33:05.240
I'm here to let you in on a secret weapon,

498
00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:09.240
your position of market dominance. It's what sets you apart,

499
00:33:09.400 --> 00:33:13.200
makes you irreplaceable, and has customers lining up at your door.

500
00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:17.839
My name is Michael Barberrita from Next Step CFO. I

501
00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:21.119
know what you're thinking, sounds greg, Michael, How do I

502
00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:25.000
find my position of market dominance? Well, that's exactly why

503
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.960
we've created our game changing implementation program called next Step

504
00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:31.640
to market dominance in just ninety days.

505
00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.240
Will guide you step by step to.

506
00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:36.720
A position of market dominance by uncovering your unique strengths

507
00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:40.440
that competitors can't touch. By crafting a message that resonates

508
00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:43.640
deeply with your ideal customer, by building a strategy that

509
00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:44.839
turns you into.

510
00:33:44.599 --> 00:33:47.400
The go to expert in your field. Now this is

511
00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:47.960
in theory.

512
00:33:48.599 --> 00:33:51.559
These are battle tested strategies that have helped businesses like

513
00:33:51.599 --> 00:33:56.079
you as double, triple, and quadruple their revenue. Don't let

514
00:33:56.119 --> 00:33:59.279
another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to

515
00:33:59.359 --> 00:34:04.599
dominate your market period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward

516
00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:08.079
slash contact. Fill out the form and in the message

517
00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:12.559
section put the word dominate or call us at seven eight.

518
00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:15.039
One three two six three A two two.

519
00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:19.239
That's next step CFO dot net forward slash Contact or

520
00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:22.719
call us at seven eight one three two six three

521
00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:26.400
A two two. Welcome back, and remember you could catch

522
00:34:26.599 --> 00:34:31.719
all of our podcasts at Powerful Business Strategies dot com.

523
00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:36.880
So in our final segment today, let's talk about what

524
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:40.280
might be the biggest opportunity for profit improvement. And that's

525
00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:44.840
what I call profit leak prevention. See most businesses are

526
00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:48.960
losing profit every day through dozens of small little leaks

527
00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:52.079
that they don't even see. And I call this the

528
00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:56.000
profit leak principle, small consistent losses that add up to

529
00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:58.320
major impact on the bottom line. And so let me

530
00:34:58.320 --> 00:35:02.079
share a story that illustrates this. So a restaurant was

531
00:35:02.119 --> 00:35:05.920
doing great sales volume but struggling with profitability. And when

532
00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:09.039
they researched it, they found that they were losing money

533
00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:12.360
in ways that didn't show up on their regular reporting.

534
00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:17.360
So they discovered five categories of profit leaks, and I

535
00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:20.239
want everyone listening to think about these in their own businesses.

536
00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:25.320
The first was what I call process leaks. These are

537
00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:29.119
inefficient procedures that waste time and resources. Now, in the

538
00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:34.400
restaurant's case, they were prepping certain items twice daily instead

539
00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:40.639
of once because of poor communication between shifts. Second was

540
00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:47.360
pricing leaks, inconsistent pricing and undocumented discounts. See, their servers

541
00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:50.719
were offering different happy hour deals because there was no

542
00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:57.000
standardized policy there was that inconsistent there pricing. Third was

543
00:35:57.119 --> 00:36:01.159
payment leaks money lost in the payment process. They were

544
00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:04.920
paying credit card fees on the total bill, including tips,

545
00:36:05.840 --> 00:36:07.760
when they could have been when they could have had

546
00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:14.639
process tips separately at a lower rate. Fourth was purchasing leaks.

547
00:36:15.159 --> 00:36:18.440
They were buying inefficiency, so they had three different suppliers

548
00:36:18.440 --> 00:36:21.880
for paper products, all charging different prices, and no one

549
00:36:21.960 --> 00:36:28.480
was comparing the rates. Fifth people leaks inefficient use of

550
00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:32.639
staff time, so they were scheduling the same staff levels

551
00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:35.400
on let's say an Monday as they were on Friday,

552
00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:39.719
despite having half the business on Monday. So map out

553
00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:42.960
each leak based on how much profit it's costing and

554
00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:45.840
how easy it is to fix. So let me show

555
00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:48.760
you how this restaurant, how it worked for this particular restaurant.

556
00:36:48.760 --> 00:36:52.480
So the credit card fee issue was costing them twelve

557
00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:55.000
hundred dollars per month and it took one phone call

558
00:36:55.119 --> 00:36:58.199
to their process. At a fixed the scheduling issue was

559
00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:01.239
two thousand dollars per month, but require a new system

560
00:37:01.719 --> 00:37:06.840
and staff training to address. And they started with the

561
00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:10.880
credit card fees because it was high impact, low efforts

562
00:37:10.920 --> 00:37:14.199
the phone call. But here's what's really powerful about the

563
00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:18.719
profit leak prevention. The fixes are usually permanent. Once you

564
00:37:18.760 --> 00:37:21.239
fix a leak, it stays fixed for as long as

565
00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:24.079
you're maintaining good systems, And so within six months, the

566
00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:28.039
restaurant had plugged leaks that added to eighty four thousand

567
00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:32.599
to their annual profit. So let me share another example

568
00:37:32.599 --> 00:37:35.719
from a completely different industry. So an auto repair shop

569
00:37:36.400 --> 00:37:40.679
was struggling with profit margins. Their revenue was strong, but

570
00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:45.679
their profit was weak. The profit leak audit revealed something

571
00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:49.559
really really surprising, especially to them. They were losing money

572
00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:54.320
on parts markup because they hadn't updated their pricing formulas

573
00:37:54.360 --> 00:38:00.199
in three years despite supplier pricing increases. And they were

574
00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:04.000
losing money on diagnostic time because they weren't charging for

575
00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:08.239
some common tests that the competitors all charged for. But

576
00:38:08.280 --> 00:38:11.400
the biggest leak was in their warranty work. They were

577
00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:15.599
replacing entire assemblies when one component was failing and their

578
00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:22.599
part supplier would have warranteed just a failed component. Man

579
00:38:23.280 --> 00:38:28.599
question from a listener, so, how do how do you

580
00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:31.760
help businesses prevent new leaks from developing? Well, this is

581
00:38:31.800 --> 00:38:35.119
where we implement what I call a profit protection protocols.

582
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:40.000
These are systematic checks that become part of your regular

583
00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:43.519
business rhythm. And let me share the three most important protocols.

584
00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:48.480
First is the monthly margin review checking the actual I

585
00:38:48.519 --> 00:38:50.920
know we're going to look at numbers. Again, I get

586
00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:56.039
it y'all out there. So it's called the monthly margin review,

587
00:38:57.039 --> 00:38:59.960
checking the actual gross profit margins on your top twenty

588
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:06.480
products or services every month. This catches pricing lenks very quickly. Second,

589
00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:11.400
the quarterly process update on it, so having fresh eyes

590
00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:16.119
review your key operational processes every ninety days. This catches

591
00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:23.760
efficien efficiency leaks up before they become habits. Third is

592
00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:31.280
the systematic spend review that's analyzing every vendor relationship and

593
00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:36.280
recurring expense twice a year. This catches purchasing leaks and

594
00:39:36.440 --> 00:39:41.159
opportunities for better terms. Don't forget that. So let me

595
00:39:41.239 --> 00:39:44.719
share one more critical aspect of profit leak prevention that

596
00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:50.840
most businesses quite frankly overlook entirely. I call it hidden

597
00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:56.320
asset activation. So a wholesale distribution company that was considering

598
00:39:56.360 --> 00:39:58.920
taking out a loan to improve their cash flow, when

599
00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:02.159
they did the profit profit leak audit, they discovered that

600
00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:05.119
they were sitting on twenty thousand dollars in slow moving

601
00:40:05.159 --> 00:40:09.280
inventory that was actually costing them money to keep. So

602
00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:12.440
instead of taking out a loan, they created what they

603
00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:16.320
called a strategic liquidation program where they identified which items

604
00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:19.679
were unlikely to sell at full price, and created three

605
00:40:19.719 --> 00:40:22.960
tiers of discounting based on how long the items had

606
00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:26.079
been in inventory. But here's the key. They didn't just

607
00:40:26.159 --> 00:40:31.519
slash prices across the board. So this is something business

608
00:40:31.519 --> 00:40:34.400
owners hate to do. They hate to admit that they're

609
00:40:34.440 --> 00:40:37.559
sitting on dogs in their inventory, stuff that doesn't sell.

610
00:40:39.079 --> 00:40:43.119
I tell this to everybody. Make sure that you price

611
00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:46.559
everything to sell. I don't care what it is, because

612
00:40:46.679 --> 00:40:49.440
if it turns into cash. When it turns into cash,

613
00:40:49.639 --> 00:40:53.800
you're able to reinvest in good inventory that sells. That's profitable.

614
00:40:54.360 --> 00:41:00.440
That's the game plan. That's strategic. So this company attacked

615
00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:03.880
their best customers first and offered them exclusive access to

616
00:41:03.920 --> 00:41:06.440
these deals. That's a great idea. By the way, not

617
00:41:06.480 --> 00:41:08.719
only do this, you know, when you when you have

618
00:41:08.840 --> 00:41:12.639
inventory to move, call your best customers, okay, home, get

619
00:41:12.639 --> 00:41:16.519
that thing, get that get that inventory turned into cash,

620
00:41:16.559 --> 00:41:19.920
And not only did this move the inventory, but also

621
00:41:19.960 --> 00:41:23.320
strengthen the relationships with key customers. They convert two hundred

622
00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:26.639
thousand of stagnant inventory into cash within ninety days. That's

623
00:41:26.679 --> 00:41:28.440
the way to do it. And several of their best

624
00:41:28.440 --> 00:41:32.679
customers actually increased their regular ordering because they appreciated getting

625
00:41:32.679 --> 00:41:36.360
first access to the deals. And the lesson here is

626
00:41:36.400 --> 00:41:40.239
that profit leaks often disguise themselves as assets on your

627
00:41:40.280 --> 00:41:43.039
balance sheet. You have to look weird. You have to

628
00:41:43.079 --> 00:41:46.559
know where to look and how to convert these hidden drains,

629
00:41:47.679 --> 00:41:51.599
prepaid expenses, inventory, these are these are hot, these are

630
00:41:51.679 --> 00:41:56.239
this is cash that's hiding in your balance sheet. So

631
00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:02.719
two more questions from listeners. How quickly can a business

632
00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:07.400
expect to see results from plugging profit leads? Well, you

633
00:42:07.440 --> 00:42:10.400
can typically see first results within thirty days if you

634
00:42:10.440 --> 00:42:14.519
follow that that framework, that fast fixed framework. You know,

635
00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:17.480
you start with leaks that require no approval, no investment,

636
00:42:17.599 --> 00:42:20.840
no extensive training to fix. You know, like the restaurant

637
00:42:20.880 --> 00:42:22.639
did with the credit card company. It was one call

638
00:42:22.800 --> 00:42:26.519
that was seconds. So every business has at least three

639
00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:29.239
to five of those. And then a retail store that

640
00:42:29.280 --> 00:42:32.039
had had their credit card processing leak in one day.

641
00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:35.559
I mentioned that that was saving eight hundred dollars a month.

642
00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:39.559
They fixed their shipping rate leak in one week, saving

643
00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:42.559
another twelve hundred dollars per month. So don't wait for

644
00:42:42.599 --> 00:42:45.239
the perfect solution to all the leaks. That was the

645
00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:49.599
ones that you can fix today. Here's the other question,

646
00:42:50.519 --> 00:42:54.800
what's the common what's the most common resistance you see

647
00:42:54.840 --> 00:42:59.559
from businesses when implementing these changes. Well, the biggest resistance

648
00:42:59.639 --> 00:43:02.119
comes from what I call the we've done it, We've

649
00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:07.079
always done it this way syndrome, where people get comfortable

650
00:43:07.119 --> 00:43:11.559
with current processes even if they're inefficient. And so the

651
00:43:11.639 --> 00:43:15.079
key is to involve your whole team in identifying and

652
00:43:15.119 --> 00:43:18.159
fixing leaks at be prepared to take a little criticism

653
00:43:19.559 --> 00:43:21.559
and share the wins with them. By the way, when

654
00:43:21.599 --> 00:43:25.800
the restaurant fixed their scheduling leak, they shared twenty five

655
00:43:25.800 --> 00:43:28.480
percent of the savings with their staff through a bonus program.

656
00:43:28.519 --> 00:43:31.760
That was a great idea, and suddenly everyone became interested

657
00:43:32.079 --> 00:43:36.039
in finding more leaks to fix. So before I continue

658
00:43:36.039 --> 00:43:39.360
this discussion, we're going to take a ninety second break. Hey,

659
00:43:39.360 --> 00:43:41.840
their business owners, let me ask you something. Are you

660
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:45.719
tied of blending in with your competitors, frustrated with slow

661
00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:47.280
growth and slim margins.

662
00:43:47.519 --> 00:43:48.880
Well, I've got news for you.

663
00:43:49.599 --> 00:43:53.079
Everything you've ever learned about growing your business is wrong.

664
00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:54.639
Don't worry.

665
00:43:55.079 --> 00:43:57.000
I'm here to let you in on a secret weapon.

666
00:43:57.440 --> 00:44:01.000
Your position of market dominance. It's what sets you apart,

667
00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:04.920
makes you irreplaceable and has customers lining up at your door.

668
00:44:05.960 --> 00:44:09.559
My name is Michael Barberrita from next Step CFO. I

669
00:44:09.679 --> 00:44:12.880
know what you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael, How do I

670
00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:16.719
find my position of market dominance? Well, that's exactly why

671
00:44:16.760 --> 00:44:20.679
we've created our game changing implementation program called next Step

672
00:44:20.719 --> 00:44:23.960
to Market Dominance. In just ninety days, we'll guide you

673
00:44:24.000 --> 00:44:26.800
step by step to a position of market dominance by

674
00:44:26.840 --> 00:44:30.800
uncovering your unique strengths that competitors can't touch. By crafting

675
00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:34.199
a message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer, by

676
00:44:34.239 --> 00:44:36.599
building a strategy that turns you into.

677
00:44:36.360 --> 00:44:39.159
The go to expert in your field. Now this is

678
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:39.679
in theory.

679
00:44:40.320 --> 00:44:43.320
These are battle tested strategies that have helped businesses like

680
00:44:43.360 --> 00:44:47.840
you as double, triple, and quadruple their revenue. Don't let

681
00:44:47.840 --> 00:44:51.039
another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to

682
00:44:51.119 --> 00:44:56.360
dominate your market period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward

683
00:44:56.360 --> 00:44:59.760
slash contact. Fill out the form and in the message

684
00:44:59.760 --> 00:45:03.880
section put the word dominate or call us at seven

685
00:45:03.920 --> 00:45:07.519
eight one three two six three A two two. That's

686
00:45:07.599 --> 00:45:11.519
next STEPCFO dot net forward slash Contact or call us

687
00:45:11.599 --> 00:45:15.119
at seven eight one three two six three eight two two.

688
00:45:16.119 --> 00:45:18.599
Welcome back, And as we wrap up today's show on

689
00:45:18.639 --> 00:45:22.000
the profit growth formula, let's put together a specific action

690
00:45:22.119 --> 00:45:26.159
plan that you could start implementing tomorrow morning. First, let's

691
00:45:26.159 --> 00:45:30.239
talk about strategic pricing. Your immediate action step is to

692
00:45:30.280 --> 00:45:33.960
analyze your top five products or services and for each one,

693
00:45:34.280 --> 00:45:37.079
write down what problem it solves for your customer and

694
00:45:37.119 --> 00:45:40.639
what solution is worth to them, what that solution is

695
00:45:40.679 --> 00:45:43.280
worth to them, And if you're not charging at least

696
00:45:43.280 --> 00:45:48.119
ten percent of that value, you're probably underpriced. Remember our

697
00:45:48.119 --> 00:45:50.360
the IT company example, they were charging one undred twenty

698
00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:53.320
five dollars an hour but delivering five thousand in monthly value.

699
00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:57.480
Don't follow into that trap. Your pricing should reflect your value,

700
00:45:57.960 --> 00:46:02.519
not just your cost. Second, for operational leverage, start with

701
00:46:02.599 --> 00:46:06.039
what I call the efficiency audit. For one week, crack

702
00:46:06.360 --> 00:46:10.800
every activity that takes longer than thirty minutes and categorize

703
00:46:10.840 --> 00:46:14.400
each activity as either value adding or non value adding.

704
00:46:14.719 --> 00:46:18.920
And that's from the customer's perspective, and you'll be shocked

705
00:46:18.920 --> 00:46:21.800
at how much time goes to activities customers don't value

706
00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:28.079
or notice. Third is for profitly prevention. Implement the daily

707
00:46:28.199 --> 00:46:31.599
drip check every day, look at one aspect of your

708
00:46:31.599 --> 00:46:35.000
business and ask is this making us money or costing

709
00:46:35.079 --> 00:46:38.920
us money? Not? With your payment processing and then you're purchasing,

710
00:46:39.039 --> 00:46:43.400
and then your operational processes. And for business owners feeling

711
00:46:43.400 --> 00:46:46.199
overwhelmed by all this that with what I call the

712
00:46:46.280 --> 00:46:49.519
power hour, take one hour tomorrow morning and do three things.

713
00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:53.840
Number one, pick your most popular product or service and

714
00:46:53.920 --> 00:46:56.960
calculate its true profitability. That's right, get into the numbers

715
00:46:56.960 --> 00:47:00.679
a little bit, not just revenue minus is cost, but

716
00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:03.960
all costs associated with delivering it. Really think about that

717
00:47:04.920 --> 00:47:08.800
every and then second. Every list every step involved in

718
00:47:08.880 --> 00:47:12.719
delivering that product of service and mark which steps to

719
00:47:12.880 --> 00:47:17.679
be eliminated, automated, or delegated, so that's eliminated, automated, or delegated.

720
00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:21.559
And review your last month's expenses and circle any recurring

721
00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:25.039
charges that you have. I'm sorry that you haven't reviewed

722
00:47:25.039 --> 00:47:28.039
in the past six months. So just doing these three

723
00:47:28.079 --> 00:47:33.599
things will usually reveal at least one significant opportunity for

724
00:47:33.719 --> 00:47:39.199
profit improvement. Remember, increasing profit isn't about working harder, it's

725
00:47:39.239 --> 00:47:43.800
about working far, and it's about making sure that you

726
00:47:43.960 --> 00:47:47.400
keep more of every dollar that you generate. The strategies

727
00:47:47.400 --> 00:47:50.920
we discussed today on a just theory. They're proven approaches

728
00:47:51.320 --> 00:47:56.639
that have helped hundreds of businesses dramatically improve their bottom line.

729
00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:00.519
I'd like to talk about one thing that we do

730
00:48:02.119 --> 00:48:05.119
at Next Step CFO for our clients that gives the

731
00:48:05.280 --> 00:48:11.280
client more confidence in increasing their prices. So we have

732
00:48:11.320 --> 00:48:15.719
a tool that will tell you how many customers you

733
00:48:16.199 --> 00:48:18.119
that when you do a price increase, and you can

734
00:48:18.199 --> 00:48:21.639
tell us how much of a price increase, how many

735
00:48:21.679 --> 00:48:25.920
customers you can afford to lose and still make the

736
00:48:25.960 --> 00:48:29.960
profit that you were making before the price increase. And

737
00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:35.320
the reason why it gives business owners confidence is virtually

738
00:48:35.440 --> 00:48:38.559
not every time, but virtually every time that I tell

739
00:48:38.599 --> 00:48:41.760
them how many customers they can afford to lose, they

740
00:48:41.800 --> 00:48:44.159
say that. They say, I'm not going to lose that

741
00:48:44.199 --> 00:48:48.360
many customers, and that gives a confidence to have the

742
00:48:48.440 --> 00:48:53.039
price increase. To get a copy of the book Powerful

743
00:48:53.079 --> 00:48:56.920
Business Strategies, simply go to our website www dot next

744
00:48:56.960 --> 00:49:01.199
Step CFO dot net. It's totally compliment metry and until

745
00:49:01.239 --> 00:49:05.119
next Monday at noon Eastern time. But chukey obio. My

746
00:49:05.239 --> 00:49:09.159
name is Michael Barbarita, and remember, don't keep doing what

747
00:49:09.280 --> 00:49:11.199
your competition is doing.

748
00:49:12.800 --> 00:49:15.840
You have been listening to powerful business strategies, finding out

749
00:49:15.920 --> 00:49:19.559
that everything you ever learned about growing your business is wrong.

750
00:49:19.840 --> 00:49:23.039
Tune in next week and every week at noon Eastern

751
00:49:23.119 --> 00:49:26.559
time on W four CY Radio with your host Michael

752
00:49:26.599 --> 00:49:31.239
Barbarita of NeXTSTEP CFO and moderator Chukey Obio